Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi said today that the petrochemical and refining project at Rabigh is expected to be completed by 2008, earlier than original estimates.

At least 25 percent of the Rabigh project will be open to public subscription at the directive of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, the minister said.

The project, one of the largest private investments in the Kingdom, is Saudi Aramco’s first foray into the domestic petrochemical sector. The facility is expected to produce an annual one million tons of ethylene, a basic ingredient for petrochemical products. The ethylene will be processed from ethane extracted from natural gas. The plant would also produce such plastics as polyethylene, used in packaging.